The Ranger's Child
by Lora Kael
Summary: On a routine pass round the fief Will encounters a young woman being attacked by bandits. With her last breath she asks a favour of the Ranger.
1. Chapter 1

Title: The Ranger's Child

Disclaimer: I do not own this franchise nor do I make any money of it.

Note: This was an idea I had after reading book 12 and the Yearly Years.

RA update 2017-12-20: The list of characters have been updated, so more can now be added to the stories and made searchable.

* * *

Will was on his way home after yet another round of the fief. He always altered his route going to different parts and in a different order to avoid becoming predictable. If there were troublemakers around he didn't want them able to guess when and where he might turn up.

He had set Tug at the steady canter he knew he could continue for hours while he scanned the surroundings for any sign of trouble current or recent. Tug's ears pricked up just before the distant sound reached Will's own ear, and Tug knickered gently to let Will know there were someone ahead of them.

Will patted his neck. "I heard it. Let us see wha – " Will didn't get any further before a high pitched scream pierced the air. Will kicked his heels into Tug's sides urging him into full gallop and Tug shot ahead like an arrow. Will flipped back the flap on his cloak exposing his quiver and pulled out an arrow, ready to shoot.

They rounded a corner and saw the scene 40 meters in front of them; a woman with a wooden stick in one hand was kneeling on the ground with two men looming over her. Both of the men had turned towards the sound and Will suspected it was the only reason the woman was still alive.

He didn't bother slowing Tug down, but just drew back his arrow and released it when all four of Tug's hooves were off the ground. As the first man fell to the ground the second threw himself to the side so Will couldn't put an arrow in him. He only just made it; Will's second arrow grazed his arm.

Will was now so close he brought Tug to a stop and jumped off drawing his saxe knife in one smooth motion. He could see that the woman was bleeding from her left arm and leg and that her few possessions, a satchel and a bundle, were behind her. A look of relief passed over her face as she saw him.

"Ranger..." she whispered.

A hiss sounded from the second bandit. "One more step, Ranger, and I kill the woman." He pointed his cutlass at her. Will noticed there were already fresh blood on it.

"Drop your weapon and you will live," Will said in an low, menacing voice. He was slightly crouched, ready to spring in any direction and to throw his knife. He stepped slightly to the side, hoping to draw the cutlass away from the woman. Come on, Will thought. Let your weapon follow me instead of the helpless woman; she can't harm you any more.

Will took another half step to the side and the cutlass wavered in his direction, but not fully away from the woman.

"I said I'd kill the woman! Stand still!" Though the bandit was shouting angrily, his arms were trembling slightly showing how afraid he actually were. He knew Rangers didn't make threats lightly and that he was seriously outclassed.

"One last warning," Will said. "Drop your weapon or follow your comrade."

As the bandit glanced at his dead partner, the cutlass moved away from the woman, which was what Will had been waiting for. He was ready to throw the saxe knife, but the woman beat him to it; she suddenly screamed and swung her stick at the bandit. The bandit jerked back in surprise and reflectively swung the cutlass in front of him. The woman fell back with another scream. Will felt his pulse rise angrily as he sent his knife into the other man. By Gorlog's horns! That shouldn't have happened, Will thought angrily at himself.

Without a second glance at the dead bandit he dropped down next to the woman to see how bad her injuries were. She was already incredibly pale and her lips moved without sound for a moment, before she found her voice again.

"He was going to attack you..." She grabbed his arm with surprising strength. "I had to do something..."

Will gently patted her arm, surprised at her action. He could have handled the bandit himself, but still this woman had acted to help him, to protect him. That was rare to experience for a Ranger. "Take it easy," Will told her. "I need to check your injuries."

It only took a quick glance at the wound across her belly to know she wouldn't survive this; she had already lost a fair deal of blood from the wounds to her arm and leg, but this last one was too deep and too wide. She wouldn't live for much longer.

Will pushed down his anger at his failure at saving her. He needed to stay calm. "I can give you something for the pain, so it will hurt less."

She shook her head, eyes wide. "You are a Ranger. My child, take him, take him!" She said frantically. She made a motion with her arm as if reaching for the bundle over her head, but she didn't have the strength to do so.

It was now that Will realised she hadn't just been protecting her possessions, but that the bundle he'd noticed when arriving was in fact a small child wrapped against the weather.

"Please, take him!" She was getting more and more frantic and Will quickly grabbed her hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

"Don't worry, I will. I'll make sure he's taken care of."

A look of relief passed over her face and she relaxed. She looked him in the eye and with surprising calm in her voice said: "His name is Ian, he's two months old. Make him a Ranger." She took one last breath and released it, her eyes staring at nothing.

Will stared at her. _Make him a Ranger._ Those had been her last words. He lifted his eyes to look at the small child she had dyed protecting. _Make him a Ranger._ Will's eyes went back to the woman; she had acted to protect both her son and him. If she hadn't moved she probably wouldn't have died; Will could have stitched up her other wounds and she could have continued to take care of her child. Will released his own breath and slumped his shoulders. You can't win every time, Halt had once told him. Just make sure it doesn't kill you when you lose. It hadn't killed him this time around either, but a woman, a mother, lay dead in front of him. He reached out a hand and gently closed her eyes. The hardest part of being a Ranger was accepting that sometimes you just couldn't save someone and to not place the blame for their death on yourself.

Will placed her hand on her stomach and sat back on his heels surveying the immediate area. One dead woman, two dead bandits, their sacks of whatever tools and stolen goods they had with them about two meters further down the side of the road and half hidden by the underbush, and behind the woman her few possessions and the small boy wrapped in his blankets.

Will stood and walked around the woman to take a closer look at the boy. The child was awake and alert, but barely made a sound as Will picked him up. A little whimper sounded.

"Don't worry. I promised to get you to safety and that is what I will do." He gently rocked the baby in his arms and his whimpering dyed down. _His name is Ian._ He stared at the child. He realised he had no idea who the woman was, her name or were she came from. A strange sense of deja vu passed over him as he realised how similar this was to Halt's story of how Will ended up at Redmont. Will shook his head. Similar or not, he couldn't leave this place like this. The woman deserved a burial before he left.

Will only had a small hand shovel in his saddle packs, but when he checked the contents of the bandits' sacks he wasn't surprised to find a shovel among their tools. They probably dig down their treasures, Will thought. Checking that Ian was content with Tug's company, Will set about digging a grave close by the road. He dug fast and hard, letting some of his earlier frustrations bleed out through the work. Will hated loosing someone like that. He was just happy the child had at least survived the ordeal.

He only paused in his work once, when Ian started fussing, and Will grabbed the skein of milk he had found among the woman's possessions and a clean rag and bowl so he could fed him. He was glad Halt had once taken the time to explain to him how to take care of a baby, because know he needed that knowledge. Once Ian was satisfied and changed, Will went back to his work and finished digging the grave. Will surveyed his work; it wasn't the deepest grave, but it was deep enough that the foxes and other scavengers wouldn't dig it up. Will carefully placed the woman in it, crossing her arms over the gash in her stomach, before he started filling up the hole again. He stuck the stick she had used to defend herself and her son into the ground half a meter above the edge of the grave, where it would serve as a marker. Will looked at the grave site. It wasn't much, but it would do for now.

He went back to Tug and checked on Ian though he knew Tug would let him know if there was a need for him. Right now Ian was asleep. Will looked at the bandits still lying were they had fallen. He didn't care if their remains were eaten by animals, but he didn't want them lying this close to the woman's grave and the road, so he grabbed hold of one of them and started dragging him further into the forest, and not letting go until he felt he was far enough away from the grave and the road. Then he repeated the process with the second.

He went back to the battle site and started going through the woman's belongings in earnest. He hoped he could find a clue to who she was or were she was from at least. Perhaps he would be able to track down her and the boy's family. It quickly became apparent he would have no such luck; no items had her name on them, and in general she had very little with her as she had had to carry it all. He looked towards the grave. All he knew was that she had been a young mother, who for reasons unknown had gone on a journey by herself with her young baby in tow, and who had fought valiantly when faced with danger both towards herself and her boy, but also towards a stranger.

Will shook his head. It was clear he wasn't going to learn more about her and had no name he could write by her grave. He looked at the stick and decided it wasn't much of a marker and that he needed to find something more permanent. It's not like I'm getting any further tonight anyway, Will mused. The sun was on its way down and in an hour it would be dusk.

He cast about for a suitable stone and spotted the arrow that had missed its mark. Not your fault either, Will thought as he picked it up and cleaned the arrowhead. He sighed. He just wanted to find a suitable headstone, then he would make camp and head out early in the morning. Luckily he didn't have to walk far before he found want he was looking for; a fairly large stone, flattened on two sides and rounder on the rest, about 40 cm across and 30 cm high on the largest flat surface. It would be perfect.

Will carried it back and set about inscribing a short text. Deciding Halt had got it right all those years ago he wrote the same words Halt had used for his mother: a brave mother. Will looked at it for a moment then he added a simple arrow at the bottom on a whim. Satisfied with his work he carried it and carefully set it down at the edge of the small mound just above where her head was.

Well, that's all I can do for you, brave woman. And I promise I'll make sure your son are okay, Will silently vowed.

As if on cue Tug knickered gently to catch Will's attention and Will saw the bundle that was Ian moving. Ian made small sounds of impatience as Will prepared some more milk, but quickly stopped his whimpering as Will fed him. _Make him a Ranger._ The words kept coming back to him, running around his mind. Will remembered her relief when she saw a Ranger had come to help and how she had thrown herself in harms way when the cutlass had moved towards him. Somehow he just couldn't shake the feeling that she had been looking for a Ranger. Why, he didn't know, but he just felt sure she had wanted to find the Rangers, that she wanted or needed their help with something, and she had calmed down, even seemed relieved and happy when Will had promised to take care of her child, as if that was all that mattered to her. And maybe in that instant it had been. She was a mother and she had wanted to know her baby was safe and taken care of.

Will looked at the baby in his arms, sucking away at the cloth. "What am I going to do with you? Your mother wants me to make you a Ranger, but we don't train babies, and I can't keep you with me either."

Ian just continued to suck at the cloth and wait every time Will took it away to dip it in the milk again not saying anything.

Tug shook his name and knickered gently. _We'll take him back to Redmont, of course. Where else would you take a Ranger child?_

Will looked at Tug. "He's not a Ranger child. I'm just making sure he's okay until I can find someone to take care of him."

 _Sure, if you say so._

"I do say so."

 _Right._

Will sighed. He should know better than trying to get the last word with Tug.

He looked at the sky; the sun had set and soon it would get dark. There was no point in trying to continue tonight, so he might as well find a good camp site. He knew he could make camp right here at the road if he wanted to, but Will felt better when he wasn't in full view from the road. Ian finished the last of the milk and Will changed him again, before he tucked him carefully into his blanket to protect him from the chill of the night air. Will tied the bandits' sacks together and swung them over the saddle, then added the woman's possessions on top. He would go through the bandits' sacks more carefully once he had made camp and see what he should take with him of their content and the woman's belongings.

"Come on, Tug, let us find a place to stay for the night. We'll get on the road again in the morning."

Tug just knickered and puffed his arm gently. Will patted his neck as they walked further into the forest.

 **#**

As Will was sitting by the fire he had made he carefully turned over every object to determine whether to take it with him or leave it here. Most of bandits' stuff Will quickly decided to leave behind; the tools weren't of a great quality and heavy and burdensome to carry along anyway. In reality he didn't find much in the way of stolen goods either, but he did keep the money and jewellery he found, deciding he would take it to Gilan and then Gilan could see if the owners might be found. Will found it harder to decide about the meagre possessions of the woman; some of things he needed for the baby so those were easy to keep, but there were a few personal items that he should probably leave behind, but couldn't quite bring himself to do so.

He sighed again. He was turning over a brush with a rose carved into the backside. It wasn't anything special, but Will felt he ought to keep something for the boy for later, even if it was unnecessary extra baggage. _His name is Ian. Make him a Ranger._ Will turned the brush over again, then made a quick decision and stuck it in his keep pile.

 _Ranger Ian does have a certain ring to it, doesn't it?_

"Shut up, Tug. He's not a Ranger and there's no saying he will be so either. Maybe he'll become a scribe, or a farmer, or a cook. You don't know and neither do I."

 _But he could become a Ranger, like his mother wished._

"Sure. It's a possibility. But unlikely; the Ranger Corps is small, so it's more likely he'll become something else entirely."

 _You're just saying that because you don't want to think about why she wanted to find the Rangers._

Will really wished Tug wasn't so good at reading his mind. Because that was exactly what his mind kept returning to; her reactions at seeing him, the words she had said, her relief when he promised to take care of her son. "But it doesn't make sense," Will muttered. "We don't choose or take apprentices before they are at least 14, so why would she go look for a Ranger when he's still so small?"

For once Tug didn't reply, though Will wished he would. He could really use an answer to his questions.

Once again Will shook his head. He wouldn't find any answers tonight and he needed his sleep before the ride tomorrow. He quickly finished sorting the items into a small keep pile and a larger do not keep pile, before he crawled into his tent and laid down next to the bundled up child.

Will quickly checked that he was all right then laid his head down, wrapping his cloak around himself. "Goodnight Ian. May you have pleasant dreams."


	2. Chapter 2

Will yawned and stretched. He'd had to get up to feed Ian three times during the night and change him one of those times, too, but even though he was tired he still wanted to get an early start. Besides he was currently feeding Ian the last of the milk.

"You're a hungry baby. I suppose that's a good thing, but it means we need to find a farm were we can get more milk for you."

Ian gurgled in reply.

Will smiled and set Ian down so he could pack up the camp. He had to rearrange the things on Tug's back to make room for the extra satchel with stuff for Ian and his mother's few possessions that Will had decided to keep and take with him. Ian he would keep in a baby sling under his cloak and close to his chest where he would be kept warm.

Will paused for a moment as he rode past the grave he had made the night before and said a silent goodbye with a final promise to make sure Ian was safe and taken care of.

Then he set Tug into the Ranger's canter and within an hour he came upon a sidetrack leading to a farm. Ian was sleeping soundly and didn't stir when Will held Tug back and stopped him close to the farm house.

A small yelp of surprise sounded from a middle aged woman in the middle of carrying her milking buckets to the shed next to the house.

"Good morning," Will said easily.

The woman quickly curtsied, still with the full milk buckets on her shoulders. "Morning, Ranger. How can we help you?"

She must have strong legs to curtsy with that weight, Will thought to himself. "I am in need of some fresh milk. Two full skeins should do," Will replied in the same easy tone as before. He knew people tended to be nervous when Rangers were around, and he had no reason to make the woman worried.

"Of course, Ranger, of course," she said hurriedly. "I can get that for you right away." She set her buckets down and then looked around as if hoping a skein would suddenly appear.

Will held out a skein for her. "Here."

"Ah, thank you, Ranger." She glanced at him then quickly looked away again as if afraid to meet his gaze with her own.

"Ruby, what is this commotion this early in the morn – Oh." A man had come out of the house, but he stopped at the sight of Will on Tug. "Sorry, I wasn't aware we had a Ranger visiting us." He wrought his hands together nervously. Will suppressed a sigh. Sometimes it would be nice if people didn't treat him as if he was a dark magician who would cast a terrible curse on them if they didn't treat him respectfully enough.

The woman cast a quick glance at her husband before she concentrated on filling the skein. "The Ranger just needs some milk, dear. I'm filling the skein right now."

The man nodded repeated. "Yes, good, of course. Um, is there anything else we can do for you, Ranger?" the man asked nervously.

Will shook his head. "I just need the milk, then I will be on my way again."

The look of relief that passed the man's face was so great Will considered taking offence at it. Apparently the man realised it, too, because his features quickly changed again, looking slightly mortified at his own reaction. It would have been funny, Will mused, if it didn't happen so often.

"The skein is full, Ranger," Ruby broke the tense silence, giving her husband a look out the corner of her eyes telling him to be silent.

"Thank you. Here is the second." Will took the skein from her and fastened it to his saddle pack. He saw the woman cast a glance at the bundle strapped to Will's chest as his cloak opened up, but she didn't say anything and just quickly filled the second skein.

"Here you go, Ranger." She curtsied again. "Anything else we can do for you?"

Will was well aware she was only saying that to be polite and that both of them would much rather he left as quickly as possible. Luckily Will would also much rather be back on the road again as quickly as possible. "No, that was all. Something for the trouble and the milk," Will said and handed her a silver coin.

"Thank you, Ranger!" she said with surprise in her voice.

Will once again suppressed a sigh. Ranger's generally made sure to pay for the services of others, but some people were still afraid to ask for compensation thinking they might be punished if they did, though it was what they would expect of anyone else. Will just nodded towards her, then her husband, and turned Tug around. He was aware they were watching him until he disappeared between the trees, and that the story of a Ranger visiting them early in the morning for some skeins of milk would probably soon be told at the local town or village inn and probably embellished quite a lot, too, with speculation about what he needed the milk for. Will shook the thought out of his head. It wasn't his problem what small gossip would go on in the nearby village; he needed to get back to Redmont and preferably before he ran out of milk again. If he hurried he should be able to be back by evening.

"Come on, Tug, let's go home."

Tug knickered in response and set into his steady canter again.

 **#**

It had grown dark by the time Will and Tug crossed the gateway into Redmont Castle, the guards stepping aside with a simple greeting of 'Evening, Ranger Will' as he passed them. Will hadn't bothered going past the cabin first, knowing he needed to settle the matter of Ian before he went home and went to bed. He had arrived a bit later than he had hoped to, but travelling with a small child had meant taking slightly longer breaks and more breaks than if he had been travelling by himself.

His body protested as he swung out of the saddle and lowered himself to the ground. Even for a Ranger a full day of riding was hard and he wasn't that young any more. He glanced down at Ian, but the change in rhythm hadn't woken him up. He'd been fast asleep for the past hour or so. Will led Tug into the stables and quickly rubbed him down. He debated taking the saddle and bags off him, but decided he would soon be back on the road so he could sleep in the cabin and instead only took the satchel with the things for Ian.

Will patted Tug's neck. "Sorry about keeping the bags on you; we'll be going again soon, old boy."

Tug shook his mane. _I'm not old. Now, what about my apple?_

Will smiled tiredly and held out an apple for Tug. Tug took it and savoured the juices spurting in his mouth. "I'll be back soon."

Tug ignored him as he turned around and walked to the main keep. Will needed some advice and there was only one person, whose judgement he would trust in this matter.

 **#**

"How in the world did you end up with a child, Will?" Pauline was looking at the small bundled up boy Will had just revealed after taking off his cloak.

"It's a long story, Pauline, but I'll be happy to tell you both." He looked from Pauline to Halt as he undid the sling and Pauline took the boy from him.

"Come on, Will, sit down and tell us your story."

Will gave her a tired smile and took up a chair next to Halt, while Pauline loosened the wraps around Ian and placed him in a chair of his own, still sleeping.

"Well?" Halt asked.

Will rubbed his eyes, then looked at Halt. "It happened yesterday, late in the afternoon," he began. He continued to tell the story of how he had happened upon the bandits attacking the lone woman, the short fight and her effort to help him, which ultimately cost her her life. How he had promised to take the boy with him and she had informed him of his name and asked to make him a Ranger. At this Halt's eyebrow rose.

"She asked you to make her boy a Ranger?"

Will nodded. "Yes. Her exact words was 'Make him a Ranger.' It was the very last words she spoke."

Halt shook his head slightly. "That's quite a thing to ask. We don't choose apprentices while they are infants."

Will nodded in agreement. "I know. I don't know what his future holds, but I had to make sure he at least had a chance at a future."

Halt nodded in agreement and Pauline spoke up. "Please continue your story, Will."

Will nodded and told them about the grave he had made for the young mother, dragging the bandits away from the road, and the headstone he had made to mark the woman's grave and sacrifice. He told them how he had decided to take the woman's belongings with him so Ian could have them as a memory when he was older, and his plan to see if Gilan could find the owners off the jewellery he had found in the sacks. But he didn't bother to tell about the fear of the farmers as he had politely asked for milk, because he knew Halt already knew all about it; he had done it enough times himself to know how people generally reacted to Rangers.

"– and so I decided to bring him back to Redmont to figure out what to do with him." Halt nodded again as Will finished his story.

Pauline was studying the boy, who had now woken up and was silently observing his surroundings. She picked him up and smiled at him.

"You made the right decision bringing him here," Halt said.

Will felt some relief hearing Halt say those words. He had known it was the best thing to do, but in some ways he would always be Halt's apprentice and always look for confirmation and approval from Halt. "I know. I just need to figure out what to do with him now."

"Well, there's the ward," Halt said. "He would be welcome there and well taken care of. I know Arald wouldn't say a word against it."

Will nodded. He had had the same thought. It was just...

"What is it?" Halt asked.

Will wasn't surprised Halt could read him so well. He sighed. "It's just that I can't get those words out of my head, Halt. 'Make him a Ranger.' I keep getting the feeling she wasn't just asking me to make sure he was safe, but to take care of him, too."

"And you promised you would take care of him, so you feel you are letting her and the boy down by putting him in the ward?"

Will nodded, relieved that Halt understood him. "Yes. I know it's crazy since he would be perfectly safe and well taken care of there, and it's not like I can even take care of a baby anyway. I'm a Ranger and a Ranger's life is full of changes and travels. It would be the best place for him." Somewhere in the back of his mind he also heard Tug's voice calling Ian a Ranger child, and that had bothered him all the way back, too. It just didn't feel right to let Ian go like that.

Halt looked at the child, glanced at Pauline who met his look, and then he looked back at Will. "I can understand your conflict; you feel responsible for the boy and what happened to his mother even though you couldn't have prevented it. But Will, as you said yourself, you can't very well keep him with you. He's too young to be on his own and your duties will take you away from here often and for long periods."

Will rubbed his face again. "I know. I know, Halt. I should probably just deliver him on the doorstep of the ward and let him go, instead of feeling like I ought to do more than that."

Halt reached out and squeezed his arm. "You can still keep an eye on him here and who knows? Maybe he will turn out to have what it takes to become a Ranger when he becomes older."

Will smiled at Halt, glad for his reassurance.

"We can take care of him."

Both men turned their heads to Pauline, Halt's wiping around so quickly Will thought he heard it snap.

"What?" Halt was staring at his wife.

Pauline calmly looked at Halt. "We can take care of him. We are not travelling a lot any more and that way Will will be keeping his word to Ian's mother."

"But..." It took Halt a moment to find the words. "But, Pauline, the ward can take care of him, too, and he will be safe there."

"But he won't be loved and cared for by a Ranger," Pauline said evenly. "Will promised to take care of him, but as you both said he can't realistically do it, but we can, and we are the closest Will have to a family. You are practically Will's father, Halt."

That struck both men speechless. Will glanced at Halt. He had long thought of Halt as a father and knew Halt probably saw him as a kind of son, but they never directly spoke of it. It was just an unwritten rule they had.

Halt kept staring at his wife. "Pauline, be reasonable. We are far too old to take care of an infant," he said trying a different tactic.

"We are still of good health and strength, Halt. A single baby won't be a problem for us, I'm sure."

"But what about in a few years? We are not getting any younger and to be realistic we are unlikely to live until he is an adult."

Will felt a stab to the heart at Halt's words, but knew them to be true. They really weren't getting any younger and even Will was starting to feel the years. Halt was right; he and Pauline were unlikely to both live to see Ian grow into an adult and it would be a small miracle if just one of them did so. But he didn't say anything. He sensed that this was between Halt and Pauline and it would be best if he stayed out if it.

Pauline nodded and conceded the point. Halt looked relieved for a moment, thinking she had giving up. "True. But we don't need to." Halt's relief went away. "We just need to care for him until he is old enough to take care of himself. And besides there are plenty of people here who would help take care of him if we should die."

"But what about when we travel away, too? We still do that," Halt tried again.

Pauline nodded. "That we do. But as you said there is always the ward, where I'm sure they will keep an eye on him until we return." Pauline looked Halt deep in the eyes. She and Halt had got married late in life and she had always known and accepted that they were unlikely to have any children themselves, but she had always considered Will their son and Alyss has been like a daughter, and she had hoped he and Alyss would have children. To her regret that hadn't happened and after Alyss's death Pauline had thought that was the end of their little, odd family of orphans and outcasts. At least until today where Will had brought home a small orphan boy and she had seen a chance to keep the dream alive and expand their little family. Ian belonged with them and she needed Halt to understand that. Where else would an orphan found by a Ranger belong?

She reached out and took Halt's hand in hers. "Halt," she said softly. "We can give him a good and loving home. I know we might not live to see him grow into a man, but sometimes the love is more important than the years." She smiled warmly. "At least it has always been for me. Why else did you think I waited more than 20 years for you?"

At that Halt couldn't help but smile back. He squeezed her hand in return. "I know. You are a very patient woman."

She nodded gravely. "And don't you forget it."

Will felt like he was intruding on something very personal and that he shouldn't be here, but he couldn't very well go away without drawing attention to himself, and besides they still hadn't settled the issue of Ian. So he just sat completely still and waited for Halt and Pauline to finish their discussion.

"So, we're in agreement then?" Pauline said. "Ian stays with us, where Will can come visit and keep an eye on him, and when he's older he can be trained."

Will cleared his throat. "Ah, he might not become a Ranger, Pauline. Maybe that isn't the path for him."

She nodded in agreement. "I agree, Will. He will get to choose his own path when he is old enough, but you Ranger's have a way of rubbing off on those around you." She smiled at both of them. "With you and Halt around I would be surprised if he didn't show some Ranger traits."

"Or that of a diplomat," Halt rumbled, looking pointedly at Pauline.

"That too," she agreed.

Will relaxed back in his chair as he saw Halt had accepted Pauline's decision to keep Ian with them. He didn't know why, but it felt right. Perhaps Tug had been right to call Ian a Ranger child after all.

"Well, " Will said rising to his feet. "If we agree that Ian stays with you, then I'll bid you goodnight and get back to Tug and my cabin. I promised Tug it wouldn't be long, after all."

Halt nodded solemnly. "Better hurry up then or Tug will just get impatient. In particular if you left the saddle and bags on him."

Will smiled. "I did." He looked at both of them. "Thank you. I know Ian will be safe, loved and well taken care of with you. I'll be back tomorrow and we can discuss any arrangements we need to make."

"Don't worry about it, Will, and thank you." Pauline hugged him gently, careful not to crush Ian between them. "He will be a wonderful addition to our family."

Halt embraced him, too, before Will took his cloak and swung it around his shoulders. "I hope you won't spring too many more big surprises at me; I think I've earned a quiet retirement."

Will raised an eyebrow in the same fashion as Halt so often did. "Quiet? You? You'd just get bored, Halt, we both know that." He nodded in the direction of Ian in Pauline's arms. "At least you now have something to keep you on your toes in addition to Pauline." Will smiled at the both of them. "Sleep well and see you tomorrow."

They both said their goodbyes and Will glided through the hallways and over the open ground like a ghost. Nobody noticed him until he was almost level with the guards standing by the gate, who nearly jumped at his and Tug's appearance; the guards had changed since his arrival and Will guessed they had failed to inform the new guards about his arrival, probably on purpose. Will hid a smile. Sometimes the guards liked to play little games to keep each other on their toes, too. He passed them with a simple greeting and set off towards the cabin.

"Come on, Tug. Let's go home."

Tug knickered his agreement and set into a canter, happy to finally be home again.


End file.
